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Finnish Paper Concern Will Buy
Champion in $5.81 Billion Deal

By

Dean Starkman Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Feb. 18, 2000 1:58 a.m. ET

A Finnish paper giant, UPM-Kymmene Corp., agreed to buy Champion International Corp. in a stock deal valued at $60.57 a share, or $5.81 billion, extending the paper industry's rapid consolidation across the Atlantic.

The combination, which brings together one of Europe's leading paper producers with an American company long known for stubbornly independent behavior, will result in the world's third-largest paper company, with sales of about $14 billion, paper-making capacity of 12.1 million tons and about 49,000 employees....